At the end of the day...

both of my children managed to warm my heart with only a few spoken words.

As we were leaving from picking Julien up from football, Monkus kept calling Julien's name.
He got irritated with her.
Which is understandable considering he was hot and tired and had spent the last two hours out in the awful August heat.
In my mind, when Addie repeats herself, I think it is her way of trying to participate in a conversation with the limited vocabulary she currently has.
It's really hard on my heart, but I'm so proud of her for trying her very best.
In an effort to defuse the situation, I asked Addie if she was "asking about Julien's day".
Her response was heaven sent.
In absolute clarity, she asked:

"Good day football?"

and I just about burst into tears.

Sometimes all she needs is a little guidance and our patience.

and then, while sitting at dinner tonight, I asked Julien about his day.  I asked if there were any bad parts that he wanted to talk about and he responded:

"I didn't have any bad parts in my day."

I'd say that is a pretty good day in the life of a 14 year old - and that makes me very happy.